153CDeath or incapacity of successful constituency candidate after close of poll and before declaration of result

1. This section applies if—

2. a constituency candidate dies, or his or her nomination is cancelled on the grounds of incapacity, after the close of the poll and before the declaration of the result of the poll; and
3. it is found on the completion of the count of votes or on a recount that the candidate, if still living or if not incapacitated, would have been elected.

4. If this section applies, then once the Returning Officer is satisfied that the candidate has died or, as the case requires, that the candidate’s nomination has been cancelled, the Returning Officer must report to the Electoral Commission—

5. the death or incapacity of the candidate; and
6. the date of the candidate’s death, if applicable; and
7. if the candidate’s incapacity was determined, under section 153H, by the Returning Officer, the date of the determination.

8. Immediately on the Electoral Commission being satisfied of the Returning Officer’s report under subsection (2), an Electoral Commissioner must, on behalf of the Electoral Commission, endorse on the writ—

9. the name of the candidate; and
10. that the candidate would, if still living or if not incapacitated, have been elected as the member of Parliament for the district concerned; and
11. the date on which the candidate died or, as the case requires, the date on which the candidate’s incapacity was determined.